Tag Archive: brigid

“Triduana’s themes are banishing, health and protection. Her symbols are water and oak. In Scotland, this Goddess rules over sacred water sources, from which She selflessly gives Her elixir to all who ask in humility. Many of Her wells are said to dwell beneath oak trees, ancient symbols of protection and well-being.

Since the 1800’s, people have been coming to Loch mo Naire around this time of year to heal their body, mind or spirit. People sip a bit of the water and bathe in it three times, giving an offering of silver coins to the generous water spirit there. For us this means drinking eight glasses of water today, as is often recommended by physicians for improved health. This helps flush our toxins and draws Triduana’s healing energy into our bodies.

Another custom easily followed is that of taking off one’s clothes and walking backward to banish sickness. Both of these actions symbolize a turning away or a change. If possible, choose clothing you don’t need anymore, take it off, throw it out, then walk backward to a place where you can put on fresh clothing and don Triduana’s blessings!

Interestingly enough oak leaves have long been considered excellent health charms. If you can catch one before it touches the earth, you ensure yourself of Triduana’s protection and a month without colds.”

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

“Brigid – Guiding back to the Light” by Wendy Andrew

Patricia Monaghan tells us that Triduana is “a Scottish name for Brigid from the Edinburgh area…Triduana’s sacred pace was a well beneath a Druidic oak” (p. 298).

“According to the 16th-century Aberdeen Breviary, Triduana was born in the Greek city of Colosse, and travelled from Constantinople with Saint Rule, who brought the bones of Saint Andrew to Scotland in the 4th century AD. A pious woman, she settled at Rescobie near Forfar in Angus, but her beauty attracted the attentions of a King of the Picts named Nectan. To stall these unwanted attentions, Triduana tore out her own eyes and gave them to Nechtan. Afterwards, she was associated with curing eye disorders. She spent her later years in Restalrig, Lothian, and healed the blind who came to her. She was buried at Restalrig when she died.

The 17th-century Acta Sanctorum records a story of a blind English woman miraculously cured by Triduana. The saint appears to her in a dream, and instructs her to travel to Restalrig. She does so, and regains her sight at Triduana’s tomb. The woman’s daughter is later cured of blindness after praying to Triduana.

In the 12th century, the Norse Earl of OrkneyHarald Maddadsson punished bishop John of Caithness by having him blinded. According to the 13th-century Orkneyinga Saga, John prayed to ‘Trøllhaena’, and later regained his sight when brought to her ‘resting place’, possibly referring to a local northern shrine rather than Restalrig.

The principal centre of devotion to Triduana was at Restalrig, now part of Edinburgh, where the parish church is dedicated to her. The 15th-century St Triduana’s Aisle often flooded in the past, and was though to be a holy well, known as St Triduana’s Well. The aisle was heavily restored by the architect Thomas Ross in 1907. Other dedications to Triduana include chapels at Ballachly (Caithness), Loth (Sutherland), and on Papa Westray in Orkney.” [1]

Sources:

Monaghan, Patricia. The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, “Triduana”.

“Habonde’s themes are abundance, joy, health, fertility, luck, magic and cleansing. Her symbols are ale and fire. In Celtic tradition, Habonde is a witchy Goddess who represents abundance: an abundance of joy, health, fertility and luck. Customarily, people honored Her by dancing around magical ritual fires who smoke was said to purity both body and soul.

On the first Monday in July, people in Wales prepare for a lunch of ale brewed eight months ago. This is taken joyfully around town and shared to bring joy, prosperity and longevity to everyone, courtesy of the Goddess and the local brewers’ guild. If you’re a home brewer, this is an excellent day to make ritual beer or wine, both of which have to boil on the hearth, a symbol of Habonde. As you work, stir clockwise to draw positive energy your way. When your schedule’s too hectic for this, pour yourself a smal glass of beer (you can use the nonalcoholic kind), and lift it to the sky saying,

Lighting any fire source honors Habonde and draw Her attention to areas where you feel Her energies are needed. Light a candle at home (or light the stove for a moment or the fireplace). And at the office? Just light a match (make sure it’s allowed by company rules or go to the smoking lounge!)”

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

“Habondia” by Amanda Clark (available for purchase on etsy.com)

Habondia (pronounced Hahb-OEN-dee’uh) also Abondia, Abunciada, and Habonde, was a Goddess of abundance and prosperity, demoted to a ‘mere witch’ in medieval English lore in order to strip Her of Her great power in the minds of the rural folk who depended upon Her benevolence for their crops and herds.” [1]

According to Patricia Monaghan, the Goddess Habondia is the “Goddess of abundance [that] was celebrated, particularly in medieval European times, as the special divinity of the witches. Apparently, She was, or was descended from, an ancient Germanic or Celtic earth Goddess” (p. 143).

According to Myth Woodling, “Like Diana and Herodias (Erodiade), Habondia was one of the names of the medieval Queen of the Witches who led the ‘night flight.’ Her name, quite likely, derived from the Roman Abundantia, a minor Goddess who personified abundance. She was also a nocturnal spirit, as She was credited with entering the households of Her followers at night to bring prosperity. See Abundantia and Abundia.” [2]

I also found that “She was at one time bonded with Cernunnos [though this seems to be debatable]. Her followers were gradually absorbed into the folds of Brigid worship and She has been much forgotten, although at one time She was thought sacred to every Celtic home [which also seems to up for some debate]. The Feast of Habondia itself is a celebration of summer ripeness and potency and was said to be observed with sexual expression evident of the headiness of the season invoking continued blessings for the fertile crop. Yet as well, it was thought a family festival observed with reunions, gatherings and bondings of the clans. At this feast of the summer harvest, Habondia’s blessings were called upon for the ripe summer fruit and first harvest grains of the season.” [3]

“Sulis’s themes are water, healing, sun, blessings, wishes, community and offerings. Her symbols are water, wheat cakes and fire. The Celtic Goddess Sulis oversees all sacred wells and springs, which give healing and other blessings to those who pray at them. She also has associations with the sun, which explains the ever-burning fires in Her temples.

One hundred miles outside of London, Sulis’s ancient natural springs lie as they did for over seven thousand years until they were discovered by the Romans, who used them for ritual, wish magic, socialization and healing. The Festival at Bath revels in this region’s history, especially Sulis’s hot springs, which continue to bring thousands of visitors here annually, few of whom know that the springs are ten thousand years old and part of Sulis’s spirit. To my mind this equates with enjoying time in a hot tub or sauna (perhaps you can take part of the day at a local spa).

If a spa isn’t possible, let your bathroom get really steamy from a hot-water shower, then sit inside for awhile absorbing Sulis’s cleansing power into your pores. Release you tensions and dis-ease to Her. Maybe light a candle to represent Sulis’s presence with you, and meditate as you relax. Remember, the bathroom is one of the few places you can be assured of a private moment with the Goddess, so take advantage of it!”

(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)

“Sulis” by Thalia Took

“The Goddess of the hot springs at Bath, England (the only hot springs in Britain), Sulis’s name come from a root meaning ‘eye’ or ‘gap’, referring both to the spring from where half a million gallons of hot water still well up every day, as well as to Her powers as seeress.

Her hot spring has been renowned for its healing powers since ancient times, and when the Romans arrived in Britain they built a bath complex around the spring, and named the place Aquae Sulis (‘the Waters of Sulis’). Pilgrims came from mainland Europe to bathe in the therapeutic waters, and references to Sulis are known from as far away as Germany.

The Romans equated Sulis with their Minerva, and so She was known to them as Sulis Minerva–which is somewhat unusual, since the Romans generally used the native Celtic deity name after the Roman name. This is taken as an indication of Her importance and fame.

Though famous for healing, Sulis could curse as well as cure, and in Bath many ‘curse tablets’ have been found, asking Her to punish people suspected of wrongdoing.

She is shown here with one of the small offering-pans dedicated to Her by worshippers which were found at the site of Bath; they were usually inscribed ‘DSM’, short for the Latin Dea Sulis Minerva, ‘to the Goddess Sulis Minerva’. Her dress is the same milky greeny-grey as the water of the springs, and Her hair is the bright orange of the deposits left by the mineral-rich waters.” [1]

“Sulis” by Hrana Janto

According to Patricia Monaghan, “the ancient British Goddess of the healing waters had Her special shrine at the spa we call Bath, where Her power was strongest. Some scholars say that She was a solar divinity, deriving Her name from the word that means ‘sun’ and ‘eye’. This interpretation may account for the perpetual fires at Her shrines; in fact that Her springs were hot, rather than cold, is additional evidence in favor of considering Her a sun Goddess.

She was honored into historic times; the Roman occupiers called Her Minerva Medica (‘healing Minerva’); occasionally She is called Sulivia.

“Minerva” by Simon Vouet

In statuary and bas-reliefs, She was shown as a matronly woman in heavy garments with a hat made of a bear’s head and Her foot resting on a fat little owl. In Bath and on the continent, She also appears in multiple form, as the tripartite Suliviae. The latter name is also used of the pan-Celtic divinity Brigid, suggesting a connection between these figures” (p. 286 – 287).

Sulis’s name is also seen as Suliviae, Sulivia, Sul, Sulei, and Sulla.

The lunar month of Rowan offers you the opportunity to strengthen your resolve and nurture your dreams.

This point in the agricultural calendar is marked by the plowing of the soil to prepare it for the seed; any magic performed now is groundwork. The surface of the earth appears barren, but the life-force is stirring beneath. Ask yourself what you need to prepare to plant the seeds of your dreams this year.

The White Month

The Celtic fire festival of Imbolc (February 2) falls in the Rowan Moon, and is associated with the Goddess Brigid, to whom the festivities are dedicated. Also known as Bride, She represents the mother of the newborn Sun, and all candle magic is sacred to Her. During the Rowan Moon, wear white to cast spells, use white candles, and feast on white foods to attune to the season.

THE TREE OF PERSEVERANCE

The rowan terrain or mountain ash often grows on craggy mountains, higher than any other tree. Its ability to flourish in bleak places teaches you perseverance. The rowan berries reveal a natural pentagram at their base – a symbol of the womb of the Earth Goddess and of protection. These physical attributes give the tree associations of healing and guardianship.

The rowan berry has a tiny five-pointed star or magical pentagram (an important symbol in magical traditions) opposite its stalk. This explains why it was worn, hung in doorways or planted near houses to offer protection against evil forces.

Rowan Charms

Sprays of rowan berries were once hung in cattle barns to protect livestock from disease and sorcery. The leaves and berries can also be used to make a divination incense, and carrying the bark is believed to promote healing in the bearer. The name “rowan” even comes from the same root as the word “rune”, in its meaning as a charm.

ROWAN MOON MAGIC

When you collect wood from a tree, remember to leave an offering on a branch in return.

The Wheel of Bride

This protective charm represents the waxing energies of the Sun and can be hung in the home to attract good luck.

1. Collect two straight sticks of rowan or mountain ash wood. Leave an offering of thanks on a branch, such as a strand of hair, thread or ribbon.

2. Hold the sticks in a cross and say, “Spirits of this wood, I bring you together for the good of all.”

3. Bind the sticks into an equal-armed cross and secure with red thread. As you do this, visualize a powerful white light.

4. Hold the charm up to the Sun and say: “Behold the Wheel of Bride, blessed be.”

Magic Mirror

Use this meditation and a magic mirror to help increase your psychic powers.

1. Prop up a round mirror on a table, surrounded by rowan leaves, berries and three white candles. Close your eyes and say aloud, “My Lady, open my inner eye to grant clear vision.”

2. Focus on the center of your forehead and “direct” your breathing on this spot.

3. Half-open your eyes and gaze in the mirror. Focus on your breath and register any images that drift into your mind. Repeat this process regularly and your visions will improve.

Candle Magic

Combine the magic of the Rowan Moon with the candle magic of Imbolc.

1. Fill a small pot with earth and then hold a white candle in your right hand. Concentrate on what you want to grow this year.

2. Plant the candle in the soil saying: “Mother Brigid, I ask you to nurture my dream, may it grow with your blessed light.”

3. Light the candle and see its flame expand, taking strength from the Sun.

4. After seeking the help of the Goddess through candle magic, plant a seed as an offering of thanks to Her in a favorite place and wait for your wish to grow.

Attune to the Moon

Harness the growing potential of the Rowan Moon in your life and make a new start by following these resolutions.

Begin spring cleaning now. As the light increases, you need to clear out your clutter with all your energy to make way for new growth.

Have a Rowan Moon dinner party and ask you guests to wear white, dine by candlelight and eat seeds such as beans, pulses and nuts.

Look for the first snowdrops of the season and make a wish when you see one. Snowdrops hold potential of spring.

Tie a white ribbon on a rowan tree while saying the names of those you love. The tree will send out healing vibrations to them.

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A personal journal to share my artistic works, to write about Norse shamanism and traditional paganism, European History, Archaeology, Runes, Working with the Gods and my personal experiences in Norse shamanic practices.